Press Release

ARCURI HELPS LOCAL FARMERS FACING RISING ENERGY COSTS

Washington, DC -- Today, U.S. Representative Michael A. Arcuri (D-Utica) toured the Twin Oaks Dairy farm in Truxton and highlighted steps Congress has taken to bring down gas prices, help local farmers and invest in alternative energy.

“Family farms are being squeezed by skyrocketing fuel prices that affect everything from feed to fertilizer,” Arcuri said. “Congress has taken critical steps to bring down fuel costs, including legislation I cosponsored to increase domestic drilling, and help local farmers stay in business. While we work to bring down energy costs in the short term, we must focus on long-term investments in alternative energy and energy conservation – some of which is already happening right here in Upstate New York. We must embrace new, independent solutions from both Republicans and Democrats to bring immediate relief and invest in long term solutions.”

After working to protect local dairy farmers in this year’s reauthorization of the Farm Bill, Arcuri was able to secure a new provision for the Milk Income Loss Contract (MILC) program, the federal safety-net for local dairy farms, which will take into account rising feed costs, caused by skyrocketing energy costs, as a factor in triggering price support payments. The MILC program’s new “feed cost adjuster” will be based on the price of corn, hay alfalfa, and soybeans – main feed sources for local farmers.
 
The Farm Bill, signed into law by the President and strongly supported by Arcuri, also provides $1.1 billion to fund programs that will help the renewable energy industry invest in new technologies that use a variety of sources beyond feed grains. This includes $320 million in loan guarantees for biorefineries that produce advanced biofuels and a new program to encourage the production of new biomass for cellulosic ethanol and other energy production, helping producers learn how to harvest, store, and transport biomass to bioenergy facilities. 

Arcuri also highlighted the latest steps he has taken in Congress, including legislation he cosponsored to increase domestic drilling, to bring down gas prices and help family farms reduce costs. 

Arcuri recently voted for the DRILL Act (H.R. 6515) mandating the government to expedite leasing of 20 million acres of land in the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska (NPR–A) for oil production. The NPR-A has an estimated 10.6 billion barrels of oil, versus the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) which has less barrels of oil.

In addition to the 20 million acres available for oil drilling in the NPR-A, there are 68 million acres onshore and offshore in the U.S. that are leased by oil companies and are fully open to drilling but not yet developed. These lands contain 81% of America’s federal oil and gas reserves. If oil companies tapped these 68 million acres of leased land, they could generate an estimated 4.8 million barrels of oil a day and 44.7 billion cubic feet of natural gas each day.

If the 20 million acres in NPR-A were put into production, along with the 68 million acres of already-leased federal lands and water on the continental United States, domestic oil production could nearly double.  To incentivize domestic production on those areas, H.R. 6515 also incorporates provisions of the ‘Use It or Lose It’ legislation, cosponsored by Arcuri, which requires oil companies to drill on the leases they already have or give them up and allow another company to drill.

Arcuri also voted to release oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) to increase the supply of oil and bring gas prices down immediately. Arcuri strongly supported legislation signed into law by the President to suspend shipments to the SPR. Previous Republican and Democratic presidents have released oil from the SPR when economic conditions warranted.

Included below is a complete list of legislative efforts supported by Arcuri to address our nation’s energy crisis:

U.S. Representative Michael A. Arcuri
Energy Accomplishments in the 110th Congress

Signed Into Law
(12/19/2007) Public Law 110-140 – Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 – Historic energy legislation with provisions to: increase Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards to 35 miles per gallon by 2020; create new building, appliance and lighting efficiency standards included in the new law will save consumers $400 billion through 2030; and create an Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Worker Training Program to train a quality workforce for “green collar” jobs created by federal renewable energy and energy efficiency initiatives.
 
(5/19/2008) Public Law 110-232 – Strategic Petroleum Reserve Fill Suspension and Consumer Protection Act of 2008 – to suspend the fill of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, starting June 30th and through the end of the year, as long as the price of crude oil remains above $75 per barrel. This is a critical first step for hardworking families, businesses and the economy, which in the past has brought gas prices down. The President, who was previously opposed, suspended shipments and signed the bill because of overwhelming bipartisan support in Congress.

(6/18/2008) Public Law 11-261 – Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008 – the new Farm Bill increases Commodity Futures Trading Commission oversight authority to detect and prevent manipulation of energy prices.  The law also provides $1.1 billion to fund programs that will help the renewable energy industry invest in new technologies that use a variety of sources beyond feed grains. This includes $320 million in loan guarantees for biorefineries that produce advanced biofuels and a new program to encourage the production of new biomass for cellulosic ethanol and other energy production, helping producers learn how to harvest, store, and transport biomass to bioenergy facilities.

Voted For and House Passed (Awaiting Action in the Senate)
(2/8/07) H.R. 547 – The Advanced Fuels Infrastructure Research and Development Act – to direct the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to implement a program of research and development of materials to be added to biofuels to make them more compatible with existing infrastructure used to store and deliver petroleum-based fuels to the point of final sale.

(3/12/2007) H.R. 85 - Energy Technology Transfer Act to improve an existing Department of Energy grant program that is intended to encourage the use of energy efficiency through the transfer of information from the research sector to businesses and governments. 

(5/22/2007) H.R. 2264 – No Oil Producing and Exporting Cartels Act – to authorize the Justice Department to take legal action against OPEC state-controlled entities that participate in conspiracies to limit the supply, or fix the price, of oil.

(6/6/2007) H.R. 1716 - Green Energy Education Act - making funds available for the National Science Foundation (NSF) program to support graduate education related to research, development and commercial applications of energy technology and also NSF’s curriculum development activities to improve undergraduate and graduate education in the design and construction of high-performance buildings.

(2/27/08) H.R. 5351 – Renewable Energy and Energy Conservation Tax Act of 2008
- extending: (1) the Production Tax Credit (PTC), for electricity generated from renewable resources, through 2011; (2) the energy tax credit for solar energy and fuel cell property through 2016; (3) the tax credit for residential energy efficient property expenditures through 2014; (4) the tax credit for alternative fuel vehicle refueling property expenditures through 2010; (5) the tax credit for biodiesel and renewable diesel used as fuel through 2010; and (6) the tax deduction for energy efficient commercial buildings through 2013.  The bill creates new tax credits for: (1) investment in new clean renewable energy bonds and qualified energy conservation bonds; and (2) the production of plug-in hybrid motor vehicles, cellulosic alcohol fuel, and electricity from marine and hydrokinetic renewable energy sources.

(5/20/2008) H.R. 6074 – Gas Price Relief for Consumers Act – to authorize the Justice Department to take legal action against OPEC state-controlled entities that participate in conspiracies to limit the supply, or fix the price, of oil. The bill also creates a new Department of Justice Petroleum Industry Antitrust Task Force to examine the existence and effects of price gouging in the sale of gasoline, anticompetitive price discrimination by petroleum refiners, unilateral actions to withhold supply in order to inflate the prices, and manipulation in futures markets. 

(6/26/2008) H.R. 6377 – Energy Markets Emergency Act – to curb the excessive speculation in the energy futures markets which has dramatically contributed to increased gas prices by directing the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) to use all its authority, including its emergency powers, to immediately curb the role of excessive speculation in any contract market trading energy futures or swaps. 

Voted for in the House (Did not Pass):
(7/24/2008) H.R. 6578 – Consumer Energy Supply Act – to require the Energy Department to release 70 million barrels of light, sweet (lighter grade) crude oil in exchange for the same amount of sour (heavier grade) crude oil. The bill would have required the sale of light, sweet crude from the Reserve within 30 days and requires the sale to be completed within six months of the bill's enactment.
 
(7/17/2008) H.R. 6515 – Drill Responsibly in Leased Lands (DRILL) Act – to require the Interior Department’s Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to conduct oil and natural gas lease sales for lands within the National Petroleum Reserve - Alaska on an annual basis, requires current holders of oil or natural gas exploration leases to “diligently develop” land leased for oil and gas exploration — or relinquish their leases before they could receive new leases from the Interior Department.  It would require the federal government to facilitate construction of new oil and gas pipelines, and prohibits the exportation of Alaskan oil.

(6/24/2008) H.R. 6346 – Federal Price Gouging Prevention Act – to impose criminal penalties of up to $150 million on corporations and jail sentences of up to 10 years to crack down on wholesale and retail companies charging unconscionable and excessive prices.  Penalties levied against these price gougers would go to the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP), which is a block grant program under which the federal government gives states, territories, and tribes annual grants to operate home energy assistance programs for low-income households. 

(6/26/2008) H.R. 6251 – Responsible Federal Oil and Gas Lease Act – to prohibit oil companies from obtaining any more leases unless they can demonstrate that they are producing oil and gas, or are diligently developing the leases they already hold.  Similar--and effective--rules already apply to coal companies.  This would provide a strong incentive for oil companies to stop stockpiling these leases and begin using them.

 (8/4/2007) Amendment to H.R. 3221 for a National Renewable Electricity Standard – to require electric suppliers, other than governmental entities and rural electric cooperatives, to provide 15 percent of their electricity using renewable energy resources by the year 2020.

Legislation Co-Sponsored by Rep. Arcuri:
H.R. 197 – a 5-year extension of the Production Tax Credit (PTC) – extending the tax credit for electricity produced from renewable energy facilities such as wind, closed-loop biomass, open-loop biomass, geothermal, small irrigation power, municipal solid waste (landfill gas and trash combustion) through 2014.  The current PTC is set to expire January 1, 2009.

H.R. 969 – Renewable Energy Portfolio Standard – to require that retail sellers of electricity to use a minimum amount of electricity from renewable sources of energy, increasing annually to 20% of our overall electricity use by 2020.

H.R 1300 – The PROGRESS Act – to establish a National Commission on Energy Security and Transition to New Fuels to make recommendations to Congress and the President for: (1) preserving the national energy security in the event of a terrorist attack or natural disaster; and (2) reducing U.S. dependence on foreign oil over a specified period.  The bill would also create a grant program to provide assistance to retail and wholesale motor fuel dealers or other entities to install, replace, or convert motor fuel storage and dispensing infrastructure for use in the storage and dispensing of biobased fuels and require: (1) the production and distribution of biobased fuels (ethanol) and deployment of new engine technologies for fuel-flexible, hybrid, plug-in hybrid, and biodiesel vehicles; (2) greater use of alternative fuels in dual fueled vehicles operating in the federal fleet; and (3) the increase and expansion of employer-provided mass transit fringe benefits. It would also create a capital grant program for the rehabilitation, preservation, or improvement of railroad track owned by short-line railroads.

H.R. 670 – Dependence Reduction through Innovation in Vehicles Energy (DRIVE) Act – to enact various provisions related to increasing fuel efficiency of passenger vehicles, expanding transit and reducing vehicle miles traveled.  It would also prescribe minimum annual quantities of renewable fuel from cellulosic biomass, require at least a 20% reduction in the federal fleets’ petroleum consumption (including that at least 30% of federal vehicles required to be alternative fuel vehicles be flex-fuel hybrid or flex-fuel plug-in hybrid vehicles), and create a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle prize program.

H.R. 1506 – Fuel Economy Reform Act – would mandate a projected level of average fuel economy of at least 27.5 mpg for vehicles up to 10,000 pounds beginning in model year 2012, and increasing to 35 mpg by model year 2018 (similar provisions were incorporated into legislation that became Public Law 110-140).

H.R. 6256 – Responsible Ownership of Public Lands Act – to assess an escalating fee on land that oil companies have leased but are not using for production or diligently developing by the third year of the lease.  The revenue raised from these fees will go towards renewable energy and energy efficiency investments that will reduce dependence on oil, as well as the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP), which is a block grant program under which the federal government gives states, territories, and tribes annual grants to operate home energy assistance programs for low-income households.

H.R. 6264 – The Consumer Oil Price Protection Act – to prohibit trading in crude oil, heating oil, gasoline, or diesel fuel derivatives on the over-the-counter commodities trading market by anyone who was not an actual oil company or gasoline supplier (by restricting trading authority to only those actors with the “the capacity to accept physical delivery of the commodity”).  This would eliminate unregulated futures trading by energy speculators that artificially drive up the price of oil and other
energy commodities.

H.R. 6473 – to allow for releases from the Northeast Home Heating Oil Reserve – to require the release of certain amounts of heating oil if the average retail price of No.2 heating oil in the Northeast is at or above $4.00 per gallon during successive winter months of the same fiscal year.

H.R. 6321 – The Home Energy Affordability Tax Relief Act – to allow a refundable tax credit for individual taxpayers, who spend more than $1,500 on home heating fuels during the winter heating season, for a portion of those expenses. Eligible heating fuels include, but are not limited to, electricity, natural gas, propane, heating oil, kerosene, wood, and wood pellets that are used to heat the taxpayer’s primary residence. 

H.R. 4275 –Keeping Americans Warm Act – to provide an additional $1 billion in contingency Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) funding.  LIHEAP is a block grant program under which the federal government gives states, territories, and tribes annual grants to operate home energy assistance programs for low-income households.  ($569 million dollars in contingency LIHEAP funding was included in the Fiscal Year 2008 Omnibus Appropriations Act (Public Law 110-161).)

H.R. 6427 – Warm in Winter and Cool in Summer Act – to appropriate an additional $1.265 billion in regular LIHEAP funds and an additional $1.265 billion in LIHEAP contingency funds for Fiscal Year 2008.

H.R. 1705 – BRIGHT Energy Savings Act of 2007 – to require that only energy efficient light fixtures or bulbs be used in Government buildings for all new construction or the replacement of any existing fixture or bulb (similar provisions were incorporated into legislation that became Public Law 110-140).

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